Finding Sophia
by lunastars
Summary: A one-shot of what might have happened if they had found Sophia. (slight Caryl) - If the summary/title didn't provide SPOILERS for season 2 then the story might give SPOILERS for season 2


**Finding Sophia**

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**Summary:** _A one-shot of what might have happened if they had found Sophia. (slight Caryl)  
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**Author Note**_**:** Just a small one-shot that popped into my head. I wanted him to save Sophia, who didn't? It's rated T because well... In this story she's been lost for days, possibly weeks, so yeah, not everything was peachy for her out there. Just a small warning. Also, it didn't end up anything like I expected but I hope you all like it. If the summary/title didn't provide SPOILERS for season 2 then the story might give SPOILERS for season 2_

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Daryl picks up his crossbow and stalks towards the trees. He holds his crossbow up and a stern look sets upon his face as he creeps closer. The others shout for him from the comfort of their small camp on the farm. Daryl doesn't listen though, he is determined to find that little girl so he stalks closer and keeps his eyes on the tree line for anything that might come out.

"Daryl, what are you doing?" Rick demands. He runs and manages to catch up. His hands rests on Daryl's shoulder who stops, trying to keep his temper in check. "Come sit back down, it'll be dark soon, we'll check tomorrow."

Daryl swings around, his bow lowered slightly. "Tomorrow? She might not have until tomorrow! She's been out there far too long and she hasn't been near that highway which tells me that she's no where near it, or maybe she's in so much trouble that she can't tell right from left."

"I get your frustration," Rick whispers.

"The hell you do," Daryl spits. "I'm going out to find her before it gets dark so she doesn't have to spend another night out there on her own."

"Please don't do this," Rick urges. "We can't handle losing someone else."

"Like I care what y'all think," Daryl mutters.

"What about Carol?" Rick questions. "I know all of this isn't just for Sophia, it's for her too. If anything happened to you it would 'cause her even more pain. We know you'd die trying to find Sophia, you coming back after finding her doll proves that but we're not happy about it."

"I can't sit here and do nothing," he replies angrily.

"And do you think any of us wants to sit here and do nothing?"

Rick's hand doesn't move from Daryl's shoulder, telling him that there is no room for argument. Daryl turns away slightly so that he's back to facing the trees. He holds his bow up, scanning for a moment and ignoring Rick's presence.

"Sophia!" he screams towards the trees. "Sophia!"

"What the hell are you doing?"

Daryl ignores him. "Sophia!"

"Shut up, you'll attract walkers," Rick hisses.

"I can handle them," Daryl growls before shouting, "Sophia!"

"I will shoot you right here, right now," Rick warns.

"SOPHIA!"

Rick pulls out his gun and holds it to Daryl's head. He knows he won't shoot Daryl, it's only to warn him. And it works. Daryl doesn't shout again, but instead he looks pale, sick even. He stares ahead at the trees like he's seen a ghost. Rick follows his eye line and even he turns pale. He drops his hand to his side and stares opened mouthed as little Sophia comes running towards them.

They have no time to blink before two walkers come running out behind her. Daryl picks up his crossbow and fires, taking out the first one. He manages to reload quickly enough to take out the second. He drops his bow instantly and crouches down. His arms spread open and Sophia runs into him. He picks her up and she wraps herself around him.

Just as he feels that she is finally safe a walker stumbles out of the woods. Its eyes focuses on them and it runs as fast as it can manage. Daryl picks up his crossbow but curses when he sees it isn't loaded. There's no way he can reloaded it while holding Sophia, and he is too afraid to let her go. Just as he is about to consider running Rick grabs one of the arrows that sits under the bow.

"Take her to the house," he calls over his shoulder as he runs towards the walker.

Daryl doesn't need to be told twice. He turns and runs, faintly hearing the walker drop to the floor, or he hopes its the walker. As he gets closer he sees Carol and the others staring widely at him. He's almost at the house when they seem to snap out of it. Carol runs to them and she follows close behind, her eyes firmly on Sophia, whose face is buried into Daryl's neck.

The others follow behind but Carl runs ahead to get Hershel. When Daryl comes into the living room there is a small table set up and Hershel is ready, Patricia by his side. As Daryl lays her gently on the table Glenn answers the confused looks of Beth, Maggie and Jimmy by explaining who she is. When the three of them, Hershel and Patricia understand they stand shocked for a moment before reality catches up with them. Rick rushes through the door, splattered with blood and breathing heavily.

The boys are asked to leave by Hershel as they need to check Sophia over for scratches and bites. They do as they're told but as Daryl goes to move he feels a gentle tug. His eyes dart down to see Sophia's hand holding onto his shirt as strongly as she can. He gently lays his hand over hers to tell her he'll stay before he closes his eyes. It was more for her benefit than his.

Maggie and Beth, feeling that it may make her feel better to be around more people she knows, leave the room with the guys, giving a little more space. Carol stays by Sophia's head, gently stroking her hair. Patricia stays by Hershel in case he needs anything. It is Andrea and Lori who check over Sophia.

Andrea gently holds onto Sophia and pulls her up so Lori can lift her top over her head. They lie her back and check her arms, chest, stomach and neck. After they manage to pull her shoes off and then her bottoms. They check her legs, before removing her socks to check her feet. Andrea gently roles her onto her side so they can check her back. Not wanting to embarrass her too much they try to be quick about removing her underwear. Once she is completely bare they cover her with a blanket. The initial idea of not wanting her to be in those mucky clothes a second longer than she had to be.

After they check everything the door swings open and the others flood in but stay around the edge of the room out of the way, each of them concerned and wanting to know if she's OK. They give her a few moment until eventually she seemingly calms. Her body is more relaxed and she even lets go of Daryl's shirt completely. He considers stepping back but when she glances up at him, wide eyed and afraid, he stays put.

"Sophia, I want to ask you some questions, take your time but they will help." She nods, pushing Hershel to go on. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Not for a while," she croaks, her voice sounding broken.

"And before you got lost, when was the last time you ate?"

"Not too long before."

He glances at Carol who nods to confirm that they ate not too long before she went missing. "If you ate something while you were out there, what was it?"

"A rabbit," she pouts, clearly upset.

"How did you get the rabbit?" Daryl asks.

"I caught it," she whispers.

He wants to ask how she did it but anyone in a life threatening situation would be able to achieve extraordinarily thing that they wouldn't be able to do in normal circumstances. "What did you do after that?"

"I killed it," she frowns. "And... I cut it open and..."

She starts to cough and Carol holds a hand to her own mouth, afraid she'll cry. Hershel helps her to sit up and gently pats her back until the coughing fit passes. When it does he lies her back down.

"What did you kill it with?" Daryl asks, more out of curiosity.

"A knife," she explains. "I found it in a tent."

Darly runs a hand through his hair. It must have been the tent they had found, she either got there before or after them. He wants to ask what she did to it before she ate it. But the fact that she doesn't know how to hunt and skin animals makes him change his mind. She more than likely ate it raw, and possibly ate parts you weren't supposed to.

"Have you slept?" Hershel asks.

She shakes her head. "Not much, but I tried."

"Where did you try?"

"In a tree," she whispers. "I'd climb them so the walkers couldn't get me."

"I bet that wasn't easy," Herself says softly.

"I got tired easily."

"When did you last drink?"

"A couple of days after I ate." It's clearly a guess but no one worries about the exact details of the information she provides.

"What did you drink?"

She barely whispers her answer. In fact Hershel has to lean forward to bring his ear closer to her lips when she repeats it. Daryl, Carol and Patricia are the only ones with a possibility of hearing it but everyone else has no chance, they're too far away. Daryl misses it the first time so strains his ears the second time. He almost misses it again but he sure that she says she drank her own pee.

Anger washes over him as Carol goes pale and Hershel's eyes shut for moment. It's enough to tell him that he heard correctly. His hands clench into fists as he swings around and heads for the door. Upon seeing that it's blocked he slams his fist down on the nearest surface. It shakes beneath his touch and he breathes deeply. The others glance at him, wondering what they've missed.

He's angry at the fact that there was water in the area. He had been near it himself when that stupid horse had thrown him off. She was so close but she had to result to a horrible and desperate measure. Measures that he knew about himself, ones that no one would take unless they felt they had no choice.

"Are you OK?" Carol whispers.

He turns to face her. "Go back to Sophia."

"She wanted me to come check on you."

"I didn't hear her say that," he mumbles.

"She didn't have to," Carol sighs. "She looked terrified when she walked away."

"I'm fine," he mutters, wanting her to go back to Sophia.

"Talk to me," she urges.

"She said what I think she said right? About what she drank..."

Her eyes close and he's scared that she might cry. "Yes," she whispers.

"She was probably sick," he mumbles.

She glances up at him, watching him carefully but he doesn't meet her gaze, he's still angry. Instead he pushes back towards Sophia. He drags a chair closer and sits near her head. It's already turned towards him and he watches her carefully.

"Were you sick after?" he asks softly.

She nods. "It didn't taste good."

"I know," he agrees. "Why didn't you drink again? Did you find water?"

"I was scared, and after a while I didn't want to move too far, I couldn't, " she says quietly. "And then..."

"It's OK," he nods, already knowing.

As he glances up at Hershel he nods too. "She should be OK. I think she's just dehydrated and hungry. This is out of my depth though, so I'll keep an eye on her in case there is something else."

"What do we do?" Carol asks, sounding as afraid as they all look.

"Let her sleep for a bit, then in a couple of hours you can bathe her upstairs," he decides.

"I'll get her some clothes that should fit," Beth smiles. "Some of my old clothes."

"When we put her to sleep we'll wake her up every couple of hours or so to check on her," Hershel explains. "When we do that we'll let her have a sip or two of water a small bite to eat."

"Surely it's better if she eats and drinks properly now?" Andrea asks, being one of the first of the others to talk besides Beth.

"If it's been that long since she drank, and after her being sick, it'll hurt when she drinks again," he says, but it's clear that he is more than likely guessing having most of his past patients being animals, not humans. "Plus we don't want to rush her."

"I'm tired," Sophia yawns.

Daryl picks her up, trying to keep the blanket around her as much as possible. As he turns towards the door Maggie walks a head, leading the way, and Carol follows close behind. They're led up to one of the rooms and Darly gently lays her down. He sits on the bed beside her and tucks the blanket around her. He studies her as he does so.

Her skin is pale, it fact it's almost a slight shade of grey. If he hadn't seen her face he would have guessed that she was a walker. She looked a little skinnier too, thankfully not as skinny as she could. Her cheek bones are more dominant than they were before and he's scared her heart will literally beat right out of her chest the rate it seemed to be going.

He pushes her hair out of her eyes. It's greasy and he's sure it's grown a little. Her eyes flutter slightly before they close. As he gets up he pulls the covers up to wrap around her too. Maggie and he leave the room, giving Carol the chance to be alone with her.

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The first two hours go painfully slow but when they do pass Daryl is one of those to go up to check on her. She wakes with no issue and looks slightly better. He doesn't want to, afraid it'll embarass her but he has no choice when her bath is ready. He doesn't want the others to do it and he knows Carol probably couldn't. So he moves the blankets and covers away before picking her up. He tries to be quick as he walks her to the bathroom that is luckily next door. He gently lowers her into the water and leaves.

After her bath she is helped to dress and drinks a mouthful of water. Daryl and Carol stand to the side watching as Patricia holds the cup with her and Hershel observes. Her face twists as she drinks. The pain of having not drank anything for a while hits her hard and Daryl's stomach twists as tears fall down the little girl's cheeks. He considers leaving but it makes him feel weak and he knows he'll only go mad wondering if he isn't here.

When she eats it's only a couple of spoonfuls of soup. It's hurts on the way down, but it saves her having to chew. They all find it a miracle that she was even still alive and able to run from those three walkers. Carl had said it was because she was strong and Glenn said it showed how much she wanted to survive. Those two little statements seemed to give them all hope.

After she eats she sleeps again after that. They hope it won't be so intense after that but every two hours that pass they all get scared until they're told she's OK, that she has eaten and drank some more. They only get used to the passing time when the sixteen hour mark passes.

By this point she has been woken eight times. Despite the interruptions she looks more awake than ever. She even asks for more water when she's drank her mouthful. Another glass is eagerly poured, then another and then another. She also eats more too. A whole sandwich in fact. They plan to leave her alone again so she can sleep but she doesn't want to so Carol sits with her and they talk.

Daryl, feeling that she'll be OK, leaves the house. He wonders out to the field, taking his crossbow with him. They were unable to dispose of the walkers before with no one wanting to leave the house until Sophia was better. He finds his arrows first and wipes them on the grass before attaching them to the crossbow. He lets it hang across his back as he drags the three walkers one at a time to make a pile.

"You OK?" Rick asks how he fiddles with the box of matches.

Daryl stanches them from me. "Why'd people keep askin' me that?"

"Maybe because they're worried," Rick shrugs.

"Worry about Sophia," Daryl mutters before throwing the box back at him. "It's too dark to light them just yet. It'll attract too much unwanted attention."

"More time to talk then."

"I don't talk," Daryl mumbles.

"She's fine, so you can relax now."

"I am relaxed," he shrugs.

Rick's eyebrows raise slightly, he doesn't believe a word that Daryl says. "Is that why you're always checking on her? Or why you're on edge as the two hours almost finish going by? Or why whenever her name is mentioned you stop whatever it is you're doing?"

"Wrong, I don't even care anymore," he shrugs. "She's back, end of. My parts done."

"Sure," Rick says over his shoulder as he walks away. "Keep telling yourself that."

Daryl kicks the ground, frustration setting in. He didn't mean for that to come out. He does still care, of course he does. He wouldn't have spent so much time looking for her if he didn't care. He wouldn't have spent all that time at the house if he didn't care. He would have stayed out here by himself if he didn't care. But he did care. He hadn't at first but things changed as he searched for her. Daryl groans, realising that he was stuck with this group because he wanted to be not because he needed to be.

He walks back up to the house, in fact he practically jogs. When he enters they all turn to him. They're all there, every single one of them. He doesn't linger, he heads straight for the stairs so he can check on Sophia. When he knocks quietly and opens the door she's sitting up, leaning against the headboard. She taps the space beside her and he comes to sit with her.

"Why were you shouting my name?" she asks.

"I've been looking for you," he explains. "It was almost dark and Rick didn't want me going out in case something happened, so I screamed your name on the off chance you'd hear."

"I started running when I heard my name," she whispers. "That's when the walkers chased me. I was so tired but I knew I couldn't stop."

He nods. "You did good."

"Is Mum OK?"

"Yes," he answers truthfully. "She's been worried about you but other than that she's good."

"Promise?"

"I promise," he nods.

She leans against him. "You changed."

His eyebrows raise. "How so?"

"The old Daryl wouldn't have even considered looking for me," she sighs.

"He would have," he argues. "He just might have not stuck around afterwards."

She yawns as she tries to respond. Daryl just shakes his head. "Sleep some more."

"I've slept enough."

"Trust me, take the opportunity while you can."

She gives in but as he's about to get off the bed she wraps her arms around him. He tenses as she hugs him. He's not used to that sort of contact, but he puts an arm around her, somewhat hugging her back. When she pulls away he moves, part of him feeling disappointed, the other relieved. Daryl helps her to lie down and wraps the covers around her.

He only leaves when her eyes are closed and her breathing becomes more regular. As he steps out of the door and closes it he is met with Carol. She looks a little stunned, having believed that he only came upstairs to get away and not to check on Sophia. He shakes his head when she looks at the door.

"She just went to sleep, let her for a bit before you go inside."

"Why were you in there?"

"I wanted to check on her," he explains. "She asked some questions."

"About?"

"Why I looked for her," he shrugs.

"Thank you for doing that by the way," she smiles. "I've probably thanked you a hundred times already but now that she's here I feel like I'll never be able to say it enough."

"Once suits me," he mumbles nervously.

"Just because I have Sophia to look after doesn't mean you can't come to me," she tells him. "I'll gladly listen. I owe you everything for bringing her back to me."

"She did it all by herself."

Carol leans up and gently places her lips to his. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

"What was that for?" he mumbles, brows knitted together.

"Saying thank you doesn't seem enough," she smiles. "You deserve much more than a kiss, but my daughter is on the other side of that door..."

"How much more?" he asks curiously.

She blushes slightly. "Nothing, never mind, forgot I said anything."

But the blush lets him know, or at least makes him think. He gulps, afraid. She's a lot closer than he remembers. Did she always look that good? She looks up at him through her eyelashes and he almost melts. He feels bad a little, one for even thinking she could be flirting with her, and two for wanting to flirt back. This wasn't the time.

"Sorry," she smiles after a while. "I didn't mean to scare ya."

He doesn't respond, instead its his turn. He gently presses his lips to hers.

"I'll go make some food in case she's hungry when she wakes," Carol responds happily.

"Carol," he chuckles. "You can come to me too. You and Sophia, I'll look after ya."

She nods and seemingly floats away from him. He chuckles at the goofy look on her face. He shakes his head before he develops one himself. When Carol is out of eyesight he turns and quietly opens the door. His eyes fall on Sophia. Convinced she's OK he closes the door and gently leans his head against it.

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_R&R_


End file.
